As a book publicist and consultant, I shouldn’t have to edit your book while reading it, and I definitely shouldn’t take your money without informing you of my concerns.

Many authors rush to get their manuscripts out jeopardizing its quality. If your book sucks, you’ll have a difficult time positioning yourself as an expert, building an audience, getting great reviews or profiting from sales.

Are you telling me you aren’t a book reviewer already? Actually you became a reviewer the first time you picked up a book. I’m sure you gave it a read through and then told the nearest person about it. That’s the moment you became a reviewer.

The question is why haven’t you made it official? If you’re reading this, then it’s possible there’s a hidden reviewer inside of you. And, if you’re still on the fence about it, I’ve outlined five reasons you should become a book reviewer.

The competition is hosted by the Gushcloud and UBL Small Business Marketing Blog Outreach Blogging Contest. There are cash prizes and non cash prizes offered for entering.Participants are required to write a blog post between 900 and 2000 words on the topic Best Business Advice for Small Businesses. When I initially read the title, my immediate thought was boy do I have a story to tell.

I’m excited to have Karl Staib of Party Biz Connect as our guest today. I first met Karl after reading his popular blog post 6 Ways to Supercharge Your Writing at Copyblogger.

That post received 116 comments, 1,141 tweets, 230 shares and 49 google+ — pretty impressive, huh? Although Karl’s content was engaging and offered great advice for writers struggling to generate compelling content, I was intrigued with this idea of throwing Twitter parties.

Connecting with the media can be somewhat intimidating. However, if you speak their language and follow instructions, you are half-way there. This is particularly important when sending out review copies to book editors or book bloggers.

Let’s imagine that your book arrives and lands on Maggie the Book Sorter’s desk. As customary, Maggie sorts books in three categories – “not a prayer,” “at a glance looks interesting,” and “must read now.” Trust me you want to be in the third pile.

I’m excited to have Kim Ukura as our inaugural interviewee here at Wordstroker. I came across her article Chazen shares role he played at fashion giant and was immediately intrigued with her writing style, and inspired by the story.

When I read her bio and discovered she is a book blogger, I went to her website, and spent hours reading through her material. I knew I had to connect with her. I drafted my pitch email, sent it off, and within 24 hours she graciously accepted.

When preparing to write a press release, it’s important to keep a journalistic approach especially if you want to get the media’s attention. Although there is much debate about traditional versus non-traditional methods, I would argue that you can’t get away from the five “Ws” who is the release targeted, what is the release about, when is this information relevant, where can it be found, why is this information important, and the “H” how the information benefit the intended target, this is classicJournalism 101.

A press release is the media workhorse of print media. Not only does it have the potential to reach journalist and producers, but if distributed online it can help build links to your website, attract bloggers, ultimately serving as your search engine optimized (SEO) secret weapon.

Now that you understand how lethal this workhorse is – why aren’t you using it more in your marketing arsenal? When consulting with potential clients regarding the use of releases in their book marketing campaigns, the number one question I here is when should a press release be sent?

One of the biggest challenges for authors is building a loyal following. If you want to be successful and considered an authority on your topic, then you need to start building your platform now. This is particularly critical if you are searching for a publisher.

I understand that tooting your own horn can put you in an uncomfortable position. I’ve experienced it myself as I build my own business. Recently, in a VIP coaching session, my mentor stated that her female corporate clients have a hard time seeing themselves as experts.